Through the eyes of a horse, life can be as cruel or as great as humans make it. Not often do horses who have seen the cruel side of life see a great future. One horse defies the odds on the track and in life. Ace will change the name horse racing.

I'm rewriting my story Fury Spirit Ace, it is now Ace's Fury: Legend of the Racetrack. All characters are the same and there are now chapters that are through the viewpoint of the horses. This story doesn't relate to spirit but I enjoy writing horse stories and putting them on this site, this is my own story all character's copyright to me.

Chapter 1: Stormy Night

The rain struck the roof as hard as hail. The lightning brightened the sky of the dark night. The horses shuffled in fear of the thundery night. Steve Karden stood in the safety of the barn. He sighed at the sight of the giant stallion being dragged by the ranch's three strongest men. The great stallion reared high, refusing to allow any creature to take control of him. His neigh roared through the ranch, bringing more fear to the panicked horses than the thunder.

Two of the men entered the barn, pulling with all their strength on the ropes attached to the stallion. His mighty hoof struck the barn floor as he entered. He glared his teeth at the men as they dragged him to his stall. The stallion yanked his head back, trying to pull the man down. Finally, his back hooves entered the stall and the men removed the ropes and quickly shut the stall door.

The stallion kicked at the wall, irritated to be trapped in such a small box. He let out a loud whinny that filled the barn. The horses shivered, fearful of the stallion. Steve put his head down as he watched his dreams slip away. He had always thought the great stallion would become a champion. Whether it was racing or any other event, the mighty horse would have dominated the others. He had thought the horse would respect him after he had rescued him from the awful place that had once been his home. He knew the barn wasn't exactly five star rated, but compared to what he was before living with, this was heaven.

Steve remembered when he first saw Ace. He was driving down a road that he wasn't very familiar with, he stopped to ask for directions. He went to the nearest house he could find, the one he found had trees surrounding the house. Probably why no one ever found out about his cruelty, he thought, not to mention the eight foot privacy fence going around his house. When the man came to the door he seemed flustered, almost scared. Steve could tell he didn't get many visitors. He seemed like a descent guy at first, his house was clean and he was polite when he gave Steve directions. Everything seemed normal until he heard the whinny of a horse, the sound startled Steve. It didn't sound like a normal horse, he could tell it was the sound of a weaker horse, a dying horse. He asked the man if he could see the horse, it was then that the man revealed his real self. He began to yell at Steve for trespassing and accusing of abusing before Steve even said anything about the horse sounding horrible. The man slammed the door in Steve's face, that was when Steve decided to call the police. Even though he hadn't even seen the horse, he knew something was wrong. He lived with horses all his life and he had never heard a horse sound like that before.

The police arrived within about five minutes, which felt a lot longer to Steve. They demanded to search the property and thankfully had a warrant, for the man did not give in easily. When Steve entered the yard he couldn't help but let a few tears run down his face. The sight of the dying colt made Steve extremely uneasy. He didn't even know how the horse was still alive, Steve could fit his arm in between the horses ribs. As if that was bad enough the horse was covered in blood and mud. He thought the horse was a bay color at first, but once he was washed down his gray fur was revealed. Steve noticed several wounds on the horses body from its head all the way down to his tail. He could see dried blood that could have been there for weeks and also fresh blood that looked like it was made only hours ago. His hooves were also in the worst shape he had ever seen in his life. Steve felt as he was going to puke and did everything possible to resist. It was then that he had noticed two horses that laid on the ground completely lifeless. As he walked closer to the horses a horrific smell filled his nostrils. Help had come to late for these horses, who Steve later found out were the parents of the young colt.

Steve told the police officers that he owned a horse farm with healthy race horses and that he would be more than happy to save the poor animal. The police officers seemed relieved that Steve offered, they had no idea what they would do with the horse, if it weren't for Steve they probably would have put the horse out of its misery. Steve decided to keep the horses name, Ace. Steve knew that someday the stallion would become a great champion. Though deep in his heart he knew that not many horses made it very far to fame in the state of Michigan.

Ace's high pitched neigh brought Steve back to reality. He had become the most stubborn horse on the ranch, but the one thing that kept Steve's hopes up was that Ace was also the strongest horse on the ranch.

Steve looked up and saw his trainer walking to him with a frustrated look.

"Excuse me sir, I feel I should share this with you." Steve respected the trainers attitude to how he handled things but Steve could tell he was not going to like what he was about to hear. He knew the ranch was about a month away from bankruptcy, and every person had told him the same thing he was sure he was going to hear from his trainer.

"Scott, I told you already, you don't have to call me sir, I'd feel much better if you just call me Steve."

"Sorry sir, I mean Steve."

"Alright, what's this you want to tell me?"

"It's the stallion sir. I think it would be best for the ranch if we sold him. I know some people from the rodeo business who would pay excellent money for a horse like Ace. It would really help the ranch."

"We cant sell Ace, he will be very useful to this ranch someday you'll see. I have faith in your great training."

"Sir, he's been here for a year now and he has not let a single person touch him. I haven't had any chance to train him. Every day we are forced to drag him in and out of his stall. He hasn't yet earned any of his keep here."

"He will!" Scott shook a little when he heard his boss yell for it did not happen often. "Sorry I don't mean to shout but its just that Ace has been abused already and I don't think sending him to a rodeo would be very fair for him."

"I know these people, I knew them when I lived in Mexico. I know that they would make sure the horse was getting everything he needs. He would become famous that way. I imagine he will make it to the pro rodeo tour."

"You know Scott, you've only been here for a couple months and already I trust you more than anyone on this ranch." Steve sighed knowing that there was only one thing he could do. Steve let out a deep sigh and looked at Scott. "How long would it take for them to get here?"

"I'm sure that they would be able to come up some time next week when I tell them how great this horse is."

"Alright, well you tell these friends of yours to meet me here next week and as long as they promise me to take good care of this horse, I will consider selling him."

"Thank you sir, I mean Steve. I'll call them as soon as possible."

Steve watched him turn and leave along with the other workers. When they shut the barn door Steve walked to Ace's stall. The stallion finally calmed down and was no longer kicking the wall. His back was turned to Steve. Steve just stood there for about five minutes just looking at him. The stallion turned his head to look at Steve. He laughed when he noticed Ace's expression that asked him "what the hell you lookin' at."

"Im sorry Ace. I tried everything to get you to like me, but every time I failed somehow. If this ranch wasn't in debt right now I would keep you. Unfortunately that's not the case." Steve tried to hold back tears. "I'm gonna miss you buddy. I know you wont care about me but for what its worth, I enjoyed having you here."

Steve turned and walked to the entrance of the barn. He slid the door open and squeezed through. He looked back at Ace, it felt as if his heart were in his throat. Finally he shut the door and headed to the house. He wiped away the tears and tried to think of something else. He wished he keep him, he wished he had millions of dollars so he could afford to save horses who get injured, to get them the best food and care and especially to keep Ace.

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